The Nissan Gt-r, A Baby Bugatti?

The Nissan GT-R is a production line supercar built to perform as well on the track for professionals as it does for consumers. The car was first seen in Japan in December of 2007 with a U.S. release seven months later in July 2008. While evolved far beyond the Skyline, the GT-R has ties to its predecessor.

Before the GT-R came the Nissan Skyline. The Skyline was first produced by Prince Motor Company which merged with Nissan in the late 1960's. From 1969-74 and then again in 1998-2002 Nissan produced a high performance version of the skyline model which carried the GT-R designation. This time around Nissan has dropped the Skyline designation, leaving just GT-R. However, like the Skyline predecessors, the GT-R comes with a number designation following the R to denote the generation.

For example, the most current version of the GT-R is referred to as the R-35, being the 35th version in the Skyline heritage line. As a Japanese produced car the GT-R incorporates a couple different cultural references.

First, the R-35 is nicknamed Godzilla, and for good reason; the new twin turbo V6 Engine spits out 480 hp! As if the name of a monster weren't enough for the designers, they also drew upon robots from the Gundam series for aesthetic inspiration. The square lines and vents that the GT-R features are the specific points of robot carry-over. With aesthetics and nicknames both pulling on the pride in Japanese culture, it's no wonder that the GT-R has the performance specs to back up its monster name.

Nissan officially claims that the GT-R can max out at 192 mph. However, the popular magazine Motor Trend actually got the GT-R to top out at an incredible 195 mph. Other tests proved that the GT-R can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds. The time depends on the use of launch control. Without launch control 'godzilla' can race up to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. For a standing quarter mile two different companies tested the R-35 at 11.6 and 11.5 seconds respectively.

Other tests performed by independent car companies have yielded lap times faster than Porsche 911 GT2's, Corvette ZR1's, and equaling two different Ferrari models. As a result of its achievements on the track, multiple editors of car magazines have hailed the Nissan GT-R35 as a baby Bugatti (the Bugatti is the world's fastest production car, though many times more expensive than the GT-R).